Serena Williams in some shocking statements

Career

What I say is that I should have finished with more than 30 Grand Slam titles”, in the magazine vogue in August 2022.

“I’ve built my career channeling anger and negative into something positive,” in vogue in August 2022.

“You need a killer instinct. You have to do everything to show that you have nothing to lose and that you are unpredictable, not only so that the adversary realizes it, but to convince yourself of it “, in his autobiography “On the Line” in 2009.

“Fear has always mattered in my life. Without fear, without doubt, without discomfort… what are we left to overcome? The fear of failure is always with me”, in the HBO docu-series “Being Serena” in 2018.

“To be Serena is to be a champion (…) There is no other Serena (…) Sometimes I try to be so humble that I forget everything I accomplished”, during the 2017 Australian Open.

“I’m not expecting a ceremony, a last moment on the court (…) I don’t want it to end but, at the same time, I’m ready for what’s next”, in vogue in August 2022.

Arbitration

“I swear I’m going to shove the ball all the way down your fucking throat,” a linesman told him of a foot fault during the 2009 US Open semi-final.

“That ball was sooo good. What is happening ? She wasn’t at fault. In what language should I say it?”, to the referee in the semi-finals of the 2004 US Open.

“Don’t even look at me. You are full of hate. You are very ugly inside”, to the referee of the final of the US Open 2011 who had penalized her one point for having embarrassed her opponent with a cry before the end of the exchange.

Maternity

“My darling baby, you gave me strength I never knew I had. You taught me the true meaning of serenity and peace. I’m looking forward to meet you. I can’t wait for you to join the players’ gallery next year. But the most important thing is that I am so happy to be able to share with you the fact of being the world N.1. From the world’s oldest N.1 to the youngest, your Mum”, in a letter to her unborn daughter published on her account instagram in April 2017.

Read alsoSerena Williams: an incredible career in numbers

Parity and ethnicity

“Why, when a woman is passionate, is she considered emotional, crazy and irrational, while a man is considered passionate and strong?” in Harper’s Bazaar in July 2019.

“I felt a lack of respect for a sport that I love… Trying to fall asleep, I asked myself questions over and over: how can I be deprived of a game in the final of a Grand Slam? If I had been a man, would it have happened the same way? about the 2018 US Open final lost to Naomi Osaka, in Harper’s Bazaar in July 2019.

“I came back thinking I belonged to the strongest race in human history. And when I picked up my racquet, I imagined myself in one of those dark rooms of a slave castle…I drew a line from Ghana to Michigan, to California, to Florida, to Australia … and I said to myself + No, we will not be hindered +”, after seeing the vestiges of the slave trade in Africa, in his autobiography “On the Line” (2009).

“The irony of this struggle is immense (…) Survive all that to find yourself crushed on another continent. To still have his dignity, his individuality, his freedom snatched from him”, about the slaves who survived the journey from Africa, in his autobiography “On the Line” (2009)

“The day I stop fighting for justice for people who look like me will be the day I’m laid in my grave,” following her 2019 Wimbledon final loss to Simona Halep.